Legendary Breadvan Revisits Legendary Race

At the recent Tour Auto in France, which sent classic sports cars from the ‘60s and ‘70s all over the French countryside, from Paris to Marseille, there was a special guest, the 250 GT SWB, s/n 2819 GT, now famously known as the Breadvan. This rare specimen started out as a regular SWB, and as such, was second in the Tour de France of 1961 in the hands of Olivier Gendebien and Lucien Bianchi.

In 1962, Count Giovanni Volpi and his SSS Scuderia Serenissima hired Giotto Bizzarrini to redo the car to compete with the new 250 GTOs. The story of this car can be found in Cavallino issue 135 in an article by Marc Sonnery, and in the excellent book “Rebel Rebel: Breadvan: The Most Recognizable Ferrari in the World” by Marc Sonnery and Keith Bluemel.

In Cavallino 201, Arnaud Blanfuney interviews Giovanni Volpi who talks extensively about his most famous creation – the Breadvan.

The car has received such universal renown that Ferrari Classiche has recognized the car with a “Certificate of Attestation” for vehicles that “do not comply with the strict Ferrari Authenticity Certification criteria, but have been deemed, as a result of their competition and/or international recognized show history, to be of historic interest.”

In the 2014 Tour Auto, the Breadvan was driven by Martin Halusa and Nicola von Donhoff.